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It didn't take long for Clay softball coach Brenda Radabaugh to realize the kind of freshman player she had in Kim Crawford three years ago.
“Her speed is the first thing that catches your attention – her base running and tracking down balls in the outfield,” Radabaugh said. “We love to watch her run.”
And hit. Crawford earned the starting job in center field and led the Eagles in batting average (.445) as a freshman and received the team's hitting and defensive awards.
Crawford, who will be a senior this fall, recently became the third player to earn first-team All-Ohio honors in Radabaugh's 11 seasons as the Eagles' coach. Crawford joined former second baseman Eryn Simon (2010) and center fielder Mollie Berry (2007) as first-team picks. Simon is now playing at Walsh University and Berry just graduated from Wright State University.
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| Kim Crawford |
Crawford was also this year’s Alan Miller Jeweler’s All-Press Player of the Year and will receive a plaque from the Oregon business for her efforts. Crawford follows in the footsteps of former teammates Kasey Graham and Eryn Simon — Clay players who were Press Co-Players of the Year in 2010 and are now playing college softball.
“Kim can swing away a lot better than before,” Radabaugh said. “We had always depended on her to drag and slap a lot. She's had one error in three seasons. She's never dropped a fly ball or missed a ground ball. She's just very dependable, she's always smiling and she works hard. She's talented and a nice person.”
Crawford, a left-hander who bats leadoff, started in center field last season and batted a team-high .500 en route to earning second-team All-Ohio honors.
This season, Crawford hit .487 (38-for-78) with five doubles, three triples, 13 RBI and 30 runs. She led the Eagles in hits, triples and runs. She said Radabaugh told her she made first-team all-state following Clay's spring sports banquet.
“I was quite shocked, definitely,” Crawford said. “We had a pretty good season, but I guess I wasn't expecting to get that award. I think I had a good year, but when your team doesn't do as well as they are expected to, those awards kind of go down a little bit.”
Clay, vying for its fifth City League championships in six years, lost to Central Catholic in the CL tournament semifinals. Crawford was named first-team all-league and all-district for the third straight year.
“My job is to get on base and I wanted to get on base as much as possible to help our team out,” she said. “I want to help contribute to getting some victories. I didn't do as well batting this year. I think I did OK. I don't know if I changed my style. Last summer I went to a lot of tough tournaments and got down in the count and had to depend more on swinging away. The more reps helped me get better at swinging away.
“A lot of my success has been because of my teammates and the great coaches I have and the support I've gotten from my parents (Mike and Deb).”
Crawford, who is playing center field for the Toledo-based Buckeye Heat travel team this summer, said she still isn't sure if she wants to play softball in college. She has a 4.2 GPA at Clay.
“I've spoken to some colleges,” she said. “I haven't made up my mind yet. I don't know what I want to do for a career job yet, so I'm undecided.”
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